Unimpressive and cheated too

Referee J. Lamptey and his assistnat cheated Kotoko. 

Referee Joseph Lamptey lived up to expectation. Yes, he did! Let’s not be too disappointed. This referee has in the past taken controversial decisions in games he has officiated both at home and abroad. On Sunday, in the Kotoko-Medeama MTN FA Cup final, he showed a bad judgement when he disallowed substitute Richard Mpong’s goal to ruin what could have been an exciting night of entertaining football.

I’m neither a bad nor a bitter loser. I believe that, when a referee’s decision robs a team of victory, that team has every right to talk about it. Kotoko on the night was less impressive. That isn’t in contest. Our defence, which has been quite formidable for most part of the second half of the season, let us down this time.

The solid partnership that has been seen between centre backs Ahmed Adams and Abeiku Ainooson was absent. That was gave away two cheap goals to Medeama who right from the start, appeared stronger, organized and more determined than Kotoko. Again, the compatibility that has been witnessed in our midfield in the last few league matches was also non-existent. Jackson Owusu wasn’t at the party so was Michael Akuffu.

It was good Amed Toure scored to cancel the deficit three minutes after Medeama shot into the lead in the 34th minute. However, the Ivorian striker on the night could have had more than a goal but for his grave wastefulness upfront. Goals are the lifeblood in the game of football. No team walks away victorious on the field of play without scoring. A team must score to win. That’s why it’s painful when you struggle to score only for it to be disallowed for no apparent reason.

I won’t call Referee Joseph Lamptey and his Assistant One, A. S. Malik names but let me point out that, performances like what they exhibited mar the beauty of football while at the same time destroying the good effort teams make ahead of matches or in the course of matches.

I don’t expect these referees to come back and apologize. It’s rare for our referees to do that. And even if they do, it neither changes the result nor does it erase the loss. If anything at all that only assuages the pain of defeat. I believe that, some of our referees have got to buck up and give local football enthusiasts reasons to follow the game passionately.

It’s disheartening to have football fans travel from far and near places – risk their irreplaceable lives on horribly bad roads to spend hard earned currency in these terrible economic times on football matches only for a referee and his assistant to perform as bad as we saw on Sunday.

The two referees shouldn’t feel bad that the commentary on their performance especially by Kotoko fans have been unpleasant. If they had done well, no one in his right sense would have raised questions about their performance. As stated earlier, Kotoko was already struggling to keep their composure. The referee’s error in judgement actually worsened matters. 

It’s unfortunate that, the Porcupines couldn’t win to make it their 10th FA Cup to give supporters something to cheer about in a season where they’ve been not too impressive.

When the season finally ends in a fortnight’s time, we would have to critically look at the kind of performance that was displayed and determine how to rectify identifiable problems to ensure a more remarkable outing next season.

For the records let’s not forget that the Porcupines have failed to successfully defend both the Premier League and FA Cup titles they won last season. We should solemnly reflect on all that went on with the objective of bouncing back next season. I close today’s piece with commendation to the FA Cup committee. They have proven most of their critics of which I was one, so wrong.

I wasn’t one of those who supported the idea of taking the final to Sekondi but that decision turned out to be a good one on the basis of what we all witnessed. The committee deserves praise for their good organization and hard work. They have established the fact that, local football isn’t dead. 

We only need to plan and organize well. But in all this don’t let us take for granted the magnetism of Fabulous Kumasi Asante Kotoko easily the best supported football club in the country. I say kudos to the FA Cup committee.